Find yourself a new bank 😭

I am absolutely appalled by the service I received from Standard Bank. An unauthorised debit order went off my account from MTN — a company I have never had an agreement with — and instead of assisting me, Standard Bank pushed the blame onto MTN. When I contacted support, the agent gave me a long, scripted response about “contacting the company directly.” I explained clearly that I do not have any contract with MTN, yet the bank insisted it’s my responsibility to fix a debit order that I never approved, never signed for, and never authorised. How is that logical? According to PASA rules and the Debit Order Abuse guidelines, Standard Bank is required to reverse and block any debit order that has no mandate, especially when the customer disputes it as unauthorised. The bank ignored this completely. Instead of escalating the issue to the ***** or debit order disputes department — which is exactly what should happen — the agent kept repeating the same generic script and offered zero real assistance. This kind of “support” is not only unprofessional, it is dangerous for customers who rely on the bank to protect their accounts. How does a bank allow money to leave my account with no proof of mandate, yet tells me to go chase a company I’ve never dealt with? This is not acceptable. This is negligence. A bank that cannot protect its customers from *****ulent debit orders is a bank I refuse to trust. I will be moving my banking to an institution that prioritises customer protection and takes responsibility instead of shifting blame. Standard Bank, this experience was embarrassing. Do better.